It’s hard to believe that the land of the Rising Sun and Sanrio isn’t licensing happy, but accoring to this article, it’s just catching on — internationally that is:

“America has been at the forefront of using licensing as a marketing tool. By contrast, Japanese companies are not fully aware of the strategy or view giving outsiders the rights to their brands as a risk,” he said.

But that is slowly changing, he said, noting Honda Motor Co. has opened its luxury brand Acura to the licensing market.